


Trust Is Earned When Actions Meet Words

by JemWithA_J



Category: Strike Back
Genre: Explicit Language, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-17
Packaged: 2019-10-29 01:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17798435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JemWithA_J/pseuds/JemWithA_J
Summary: When Alexander Coltrane and Manisha Chetri find themselves stranded with no safe haven and danger on every corner leading them back to the rest of the team, they must rely on and trust in one another's ability to get them to safety.





	1. Chapter 1

“You can do this. Have faith in yourself.”

Alexander Coltrane looked over at his Lance Corporal who looked panicked as they huddled together in the doorway of a shanty town hut, gunfire sounding around them, getting closer. He knew she wasn’t as experienced in the field, and it pained him that she had found herself in this position. But the Crib had been compromised. They couldn’t stay there, they had to risk getting out and maneuvering their way across the town to where the rest of the Section were waiting to pick them up.

“I...I don’t know if I can, Sir…”

Chetri answered her Colonel, trying to keep the fear from her voice. In the Crib, at the Comms, she was confident, she was in control. This wasn’t her world out here. The gun in her hand felt unnatural and heavy and she had no idea what she would do if anyone pointed a gun in her direction.

“Yes you can.” Alex replied, his voice calm and measured as he looked her in the eye, “You are one of the most naturally gifted soldiers I’ve ever met.”

“Don’t, Sir…”

As she shook her head Alex looked at her in confusion.

“Don’t what?”

“I’ve heard the team talking about you using that line on McCallister. I appreciate you trying to make me feel better but I don’t like being lied to…”

“No. Manisha…”

Alex closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, cursing himself.

“I’m not lying to you. I swear. I brought you into this team because I know how talented you are. And I know you aren’t used to field work. I know that. But you’ve had the training. It’s all up there still. You can do this. I believe in you.”

A loud gunshot caused them both to jump and Alex placed a hand on Chetri’s shoulder, trying to calm her.

“We need to move. It’s now or never Lance Corporal. Stay close to me. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”

As he looked her straight in the eyes she found herself nodding, grasping her gun tighter in her hand as she got to her feet.

“That’s it Soldier.” Alex smiled as he checked his own weapon, “On me. Go.”

He edged forward, gun raised, and she followed close behind, trying not to jump as Alex shot at targets who came in range before they even had a chance to think. She couldn’t help but be impressed. She knew of his background, his distinguished career in the field, but she had never seen it first hand. All the time she had known him he had been sat behind a desk, on the brink of retirement, unable to put his past behind him. Seeing him in action showed her that there was more to her Commander than the rumours that surrounded him.

Suddenly out of the corner of her eye she saw another assailant brandishing his gun towards Alex who was busy tussling with another.

“Sir!!”

She screamed, but as the gun went off and Alex collapsed to the ground she knew she was too late. Instinctively she raised her gun and shot the man dead before he could turn his gun on her before collapsing on the floor beside her Commander. He grasped at his stomach, his face contorted in pain as she pressed her own hands to it to try and stop the bleeding. 

“Sir...I’m sorry Sir. I hesitated. I should have shot him on sight I…”

“No...Manisha, you did good, I...argh!”

He grimaced in pain again and as she looked down at the dark blood pooling from his side she knew he was losing too much.

“Sir, we need to move.”

Alex shook his head.

“I won’t make it. You need to go. Find the team. Get to safety.”

Chetri shook her head in horror.

“I won’t just leave you here. You’ll die…”

“I’m dying anyway...” He said with a wry smile, “Might as well try and take out some more of the bastards before I do. Now go. That’s an order.”

Chetri looked at him, tears stinging her eyes, as she watched him struggle to fix a new mag to his gun, ready to defend himself to the last. But she knew she couldn’t do it. She didn’t want to disobey a direct order but she knew in her heart that she couldn’t just walk away and leave him.

“No…”

She shook her head, taking one more look to check that the coast was clear before grabbing hold of him under his arms and pulling him through the doorway of the nearest hut, ignoring his screams of protestation mixed in with grunts of pain. As she pulled him clear of the door she found some wood to barricade it with, Alex wrenched himself up against the wall, his eyes flashing with anger as he looked at her.

“What the fuck do you think you are doing?!” He growled, “I gave you a direct fucking order Lance Corporal!”

“I couldn’t just leave you to die, Sir!”

She screamed back, taking him by surprise.

“I know you think you deserve nothing and that you need to make yourself a bloody martyr to make up for whatever mistakes you made in the past but you don’t! This team need you! So let me do what I am good at and try and fix these damn comms so we can get in touch with the team and give them our location.”

As he looked at her she saw the anger in his eyes give way to pain and fear and she suddenly felt bad for shouting.

“I don’t have time, Manisha…” he said, his voice quieter, “I can’t hold out much longer…”

She walked over to him, taking off her jacket and pressing it hard into his wound to stem the bleeding, making him wince.

“Yes you can. You are one of the strongest and bravest soldiers I’ve ever had the privilege to work with…”

He looked at her, raising his eyebrow in wry amusement.

“I knew that trick would come back to haunt me…”

He coughed, his breathing shallower, his eyes flickering open and closed as Chetri kept pressing her jacket down against his wound, tears pricking at her own eyes.

“I mean it.” She said strongly, “Every word.”


	2. Chapter 2

Chetri tried and tried to get the comms device she was wearing to work but it was no good, she could get nothing. No audio, not even a tracker to highlight their location to the team. After her sixth attempt with no luck she threw it to the ground in frustration, burying her head in her hands.

“Manisha…”

Alex swallowed as he tried to focus his gaze on her. Even speaking was an effort now but he knew she needed to hear something.

“You tried. There’s nothing...more you can...do. It’s not...your fault…”

“It’s my job!” She replied, looking over at him in despair, “It’s the one thing I should know how to do. It’s the one thing I should be able to do to help and I can’t do it…”

“It’s the system. Not...you.” Alex said with a sad smile, “You can only...work with the tools you...have. If they are...broken, not even the best can...fix them…”

He grimaced again as a wave of pain hit and Chetri shuffled across the floor over to him. With shaking hands he reached for his gun at his belt and handed it to her.

“You need...to go.” He said, looking at her, still with steely determination in his eyes despite the sheen of sweat across his pained and clammy face, “Take this. Two weapons will give you the...best chance of getting back to the...team.”

“Sir...no I won’t…”

Alex shook his head, stopping her from speaking.

“When you...find them. Tell them...Tell them I still...think they are the most...bloody undisciplined team I ever...met. But they are good...soldiers. And to watch...their backs…”

He managed a brief smile before his eyes flickered shut and his head lolled forwards where it stayed, still.

“Sir...Sir no!”

Chetri grabbed his shoulders, shaking him but he didn’t move. Placing a hand to his jaw she lifted his head, clapping at his cheek, trying to rouse him, even though deep down she knew it was too late. Choking back sobs she looked down at the gun he had given her, and she picked it up in her shaking hands which were covered in the blood of her Commander. She knew in her head that she should move but she couldn’t make herself do it. He didn’t deserve to be left here in some filthy hut, left to the mercy of whatever these men would do when they found him. And she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance out there. Two guns or not. So she made her decision to stay. To stay and protect him until the last. Like she knew he would have done for her. Gunfire started to get louder and Chetri grasped hold of the gun tighter in her hand. And as the door flew open, breaking down the barricade of wood she had made as if it were paper she raised it and got ready to fire.

“Whoah whoah whoah, easy Chetters! It’s us. It’s us…”

As she heard Sergeant Wyatt’s voice she dropped the gun to the floor and broke down.

“I couldn’t…” she shook her head, gesturing over to Alex who she couldn’t look at, “I tried...I…”

As Mac rushed over to Alex’s side, Novin rushed to Chetri’s as Wyatt and Zarkova covered the door.

“How did you…?”

“We got a notification on the comms.” Novin answered, placing a hand against Chetri’s shoulder, “Only one and it was quick but I caught it and managed to pinpoint your location. We got here as fast as we…”

“Quiet!”

Mac’s voice bellowed loudly, causing everyone to stop and look at him. He had one hand pressed to Alex’s neck and slowly raised his other, placing it across his nose and mouth. He waited a beat before talking again.

“He’s breathing.” He announced, “And he has a pulse. It’s thready but it’s there…”

Chetri’s eyes widened in shock as she took in his words but Mac didn’t give any of them much chance to think. Pulling Alex onto his shoulder he turned to the team.

“Wyatt, Zarkova, cover me. Novin stay with Chetters. We took out most of them on the way here but don’t count on there not being others. Stay on your guard. On me. Go…”

Chetri watched as Mac carried Alex through the door, Wyatt and Zarkova either side. She stayed close to Novin, still carrying Alex’s gun in her hand, ready to use it if she had to, knowing now that there was still a chance for them both to make it out of there alive. Shouts of “contact!” from Wyatt and Zarkova were followed by gunshots as they took down the last remaining enemies in their way leaving a clear passage to the vehicle. Mac placed Alex in the back as gently as he could before helping Chetri in too. As the other three got in the front and Mac shouted at them to go, Chetri placed her own hand to Alex’s neck, needing to feel for herself the pulse that told her he was still there fighting. And she felt it. Barely there and weak as anything but it was something. She just prayed he could hold on until they could get him the help he needed.


	3. Chapter 3

Whilst Mac waited for news of Alex’s surgery, the rest of the team reluctantly headed to the hospital cafeteria to wait. Chetri had been checked over and was fine which ate away at her even more, knowing that she had survived the whole ordeal unscathed whilst Alex was in surgery, fighting for his life because she didn’t act quickly enough. The team tried to reassure her that none of this was her fault and that the boss wouldn’t blame her but she couldn’t help but blame herself regardless. The hours seemed to drag by as they waited for news, cups of tea and coffee going cold as none of them felt like drinking them. Finally they heard Mac come through the door and they all got to their feet instinctively.

“He made it through surgery.” He answered their unspoken question, “There was some significant damage to major organs which is what caused him to bleed out. Doc said most other people wouldn’t have made it.”

“He’s one lucky bastard…”

Wyatt shook his head with a grin. The news that Alex had made it through surgery had lifted some of the weight from their shoulders and everyone felt a little bit more settled.

“Can we see him?”

Chetri asked but Mac shook his head.

“He’s stable but he’s not out of the woods yet. Docs are keeping him under close observation for tonight. We’ll be able to see him in the morning. I suggest you all try and get a bit of sleep. I’ll check in with Whitehall, give them an update.”

As Mac headed off to use the phone, the rest of the team headed out of the cafeteria and settled themselves down on the hard plastic chairs of the hospital corridor. With the Crib being compromised, none of them had another base to return to at such short notice and though none of them made their thoughts known it was obvious that they didn’t want to be too far away in case he took a turn for the worst. Sleep arrived eventually for most of them, but not Chetri. Everytime she closed her eyes all she could see was the moment it happened and the fact that she didn’t even try to stop it. With guilt still seeping into her veins she got to her feet quietly, making sure the others were still sleeping, before making her way down the corridor towards the ICU. She looked through window after window until she saw him and she felt her chest tighten with pain at the sight of him hooked up to tubes and wires with a machine breathing for him. The tears started to pool in her eyes and fall down her cheeks as she realised that he was nowhere near safe yet.

“Hey kid…”

She jumped slightly as Mac’s voice drifted from the doorway and as she looked at him she brushed the tears roughly from her face.

“I’m sorry, Sarge. I know you said we weren’t allowed to but I couldn’t help…”

Mac shook his head as he walked over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t apologise. And don’t call me Sarge. Don’t want this team leader thing going to me head. The sooner he’s back the better. Talking to those posh gits at Whitehall was a pain in the arse. I don’t know how he does it…”

Chetri managed a half smile but it faded again the moment she looked through the window and saw him.

“Will he be back?”

She whispered and Mac pulled her into a hug.

“You heard what the Doc told me.” He replied, softly, “Anyone else wouldn’t have even made it through surgery. So that tells you what kind of bloke he is. If anyone can get through this it’s him. Let’s face it. You don’t get the job of keeping us lot in check unless you’ve got something special eh?”

As he pulled back from the hug he grinned at her and she managed a smile.

“He’ll be back on his feet in no time. Trust me.”

She nodded, wanting so badly to believe him. They stood in a comfortable silence just watching him for a while before Mac spoke again.

“You best try and get some sleep, kid. I should too.”

As she looked at him he sensed her hesitation and smiled softly.

“You want to kip here? I suppose these chairs are just as uncomfortable as the ones out there…”

Chetri gave him a grateful nod as she followed him over to the chairs and sat down next to him. He put his arm around her, allowing her to rest her head against his shoulder and before she even realised it she had fallen asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

A few days passed and Alex, though still stable, showed little sign of improvement. Chetri spent a lot of her time at his bedside, the guilt stopping her from focusing on little else. She sat reading a book, sometimes reading it aloud when the sound of the beeping machines became too much, waiting for him to show some sign of movement. It was another few days until he finally did. It was his hand grasping lightly then tighter at the bedsheets that she noticed first, followed by the panicked sound of him trying to breathe for himself but the tube in his throat stopping him. Crashing her hand down against the call button she stood up and grabbed hold of his hand, trying to calm him, before the doctors and nurses rushed into the room and ushered her away before focussing on him. There was nothing more she could do other than wait so she took the time to phone the team and update them on his condition. They were an hour or so’s drive away, on a recce to gather information, but as soon as Chetri called they made plans to head back. It felt like hours before the doctor came out and informed her that he was now awake and breathing for himself and that she was welcome to sit with him though not to push him as it was still early days and he needed to rest. Thanking him she took a deep breath before pushing open the door to his room and looking over at him. The tubes and wires had all but gone, the machine that was breathing for him replaced with a simple oxygen mask across his face. As he looked towards her she smiled but he didn’t return it. His face was pale and drawn and in his eyes she saw nothing but pain and it hurt her heart to see. As she sat down in the chair next to his bed, his hand moved to take the mask from his face.

“No, Sir…” Chetri said, standing up and shaking her head as she placed her hand on top of his, trying to stop him, “The doctor said you need to keep that on…”

He persisted, still surprisingly strong despite everything he had been through, and eventually she moved her hand away letting him remove it. As she sat back down again he looked at her.

“I thought I was dead…”

His voice was weak, still raw from the breathing tube. She wanted to speak but she couldn’t bring herself to so she sat and waited for him to speak again.

“I could feel myself slipping away and I thought that was it.” He continued eventually, “And the funny thing is...part of me wanted it, I think. Part of me wanted to die there and then. I was ready. I’ve had so many years of my head messing with me. My mind constantly reminding me of mistakes of the past, never letting me rest. Death felt like a relief…”

“Don’t say that, Sir.” Chetri said sadly, shaking her head, “The doctors...they said that most people wouldn’t have survived this. So something, somewhere inside you knew you needed to fight.”

Alex looked up at her, a sad smile playing on his lips.

“Maybe…”

He grimaced a little as he shuffled slightly in the bed trying to get comfortable.

“What happened?” He asked her, “I’m guessing you led them back to get me…”

Chetri shook her head.

“I...never left, Sir…”

Alex raised his eyebrow incredulously before rolling his eyes.

“You lot honestly are the most disobedient, undisciplined…”

“I figured you would have done the same for me, Sir…”

As Chetri replied, Alex opened his mouth again to retort before closing it, his face softening.

“Where are they then?” He asked, “Hard at work I hope?”

Chetri laughed.

“Naturally. They are on a recce, but I called them and they should be on their way here…”

As if on cue the door opened and in walked the team. They all looked relieved to see their Commander awake and alert, even Wyatt. Mac walked over to Alex’s bedside and held out his hand which Alex took.

“Good to see you looking better, Boss.”

As Alex nodded his thanks, Wyatt piped up.

“Definitely is, Sir. And not a moment too soon. If I had to spend one more minute with _him_ in charge then I may have had to stage an intervention…”

“Do you want a punch?”

As Mac glared over at the American, Alex laughed.

“I see nothing has changed…”

“Give us chance, Boss,” Mac retorted, “It’s only been a few days…”

“Here, got you some grapes…”

Wyatt threw down a bag onto Alex’s lap. As the team looked at him, he shrugged.

“That’s what you do, isn’t it?”

Alex looked at the half empty bag of grapes in wry amusement.

“Thank you, Sergeant. That’s very kind of you. Though I’m guessing this _was_ full when you bought it, yes?”

The team rounded on Wyatt, arms folded, eyebrows raised and he shrugged again.

“It was a long drive here. I got hungry…”

“Dickhead…”

As Novin piped up from the back of the room and the whole team descended into playful bickering, Alex couldn’t help but smile. Maybe Chetri was right. Maybe there was a reason he kept on fighting. And maybe this was it.


End file.
